Railway car-coupling of the automatic type.



J. W. G. BROWN.

1 RAILWAY. CAR COUPLING OF THE AUTOMATIC TYPE.

APPLICATION man SEPT. 30, 19:8.

1,326,567. Patented Dec. 30,1919.-

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

Ina/1272201 1; w. 6. BROWN. RAILWAY CAR COUPLING OF THE AUTOMATIC TYPE.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented Dec. 30, 1919;

APPUCATION FILED SEPTIBOI 19H]- "entrain snares nn rnn'r onnion.

JAMES WILLIAM GIBSON BROWN, OF MAYFIELD, NEAR NEVJCASTLE, NEW SOUTH TALES, AUSTRALIA.

RAILWAY GAE-GOUPLING 0E THE AUTOMATIC TYPE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 36, 1919.

Application filed September 30, 19-18. Serial No. 256,258.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that "I, JABIES WILLIAM Ginson Beown, subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Allendale, Crebert street, Mayfield, near Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway Car-Couplings of the Automatic Type, of which the following is a specification.

This improvement relates to horizontal hook and j aw self closing car couplings which are automatically locked closed by a drop key when bumped into coupled position by contact with the coupling of another car, and which are positively unlocked and opened by raising the drop key. It has been devised with the object of providing a short length coupling of rugged construction, not liable to derangement in use, which is adapted to coact with another coupling of uniform design, regardless of a difference (within working range) in the bolster levels of the vehicles fitted therewith respectively, or of the angular position of such Vehicles as when located on a curve, and which olfers a very small margin of free slack, and which is designed to close and lock automatically without heavy impact of the fel low-coupling, and to release readily, except while under compression, when the drop key is raised.

In the accompanying explanatory drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of the coupling with the hook in open position and the drop key down; this view shows also the decoupling tripper contained in the key, and means for raising it and so raising the key from the side of the track as to relieve shunters from the necessity of entering between vehicles to effect uncoupling; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the drop key; Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional plan showing the coupling open; Fig. l is a horizontal sectional plan showing the coupling closed and locked; Fig. 5 is a vertical section showing the positions of the various elements shortly after the closing movement of the coupling hook is commenced, when the toe of the coupling hook is just making contact with a latch face in a lateral gap in the drop key; Fig. 6 is a similar section through the jaw showing the drop key about to fall by gravity and engage behind the heel of the coupling hook to chock it in closed position; Fig. 7 is a similar section explanatory of the releasing movement, the tripper being raised by the decoupling gear (Fig. 1) to bring its lug back behind the hook heel and push up the drop key until the tripper and the key come to the position shown in Fig. 8; Fig. 8 is a similar section showing the positions of the elements when the heel of the snatch lug of the tripper which works in a lateral gap in the drop.

any design appropriate to the draw bar or bolster attachment, which may be a vertical king pin (not shown). The jaw body is recessed (21) to accommodate the foot of the hook, and its lateral portions are extended forming horns, the one to form a lug 22 for the vertical pintle pin 23 on which the hook is pivotally carried, and the other to form a lip 24, which serves as a guide to bring the hook claws. into full engagement in the closing movement, and thereby to assure the forcinghome of the hook foot until its heel 25 is engaged behind the drop key 26. be understood by referring to Figs. 3 and i. The hook comprising a claw29, and a foot 32, with a midway pin eye, has a limited range of lateral swing on its pintle 23, determined by the clearance in the jaw lug 22 at 27, with the object that the heel 25 of the hook will be knocked by the claw nose 28 of the pair hook on an approaching vehicle in the coupling movement. In that movement the opposed hooks contact, as shown in Fig. 3 and clasp their claws 29, as both close simultaneously to the position shown in Fig. 4. The clearance above and below the lateral extensions of the jaw forwardly of its recessed body portion 21 admits of the engagement of couplings when they are out of horizontal plane as under no circumstances does the claw of the hook enter the recess 21. If the depth of the coupling claw (see Fig. 1) is, for instance,

This function willof movement required between closed and ,open positions of the hook.

six inches, it is possible to effect coupling within the greatest range of height difference which is found necessary in ractice,

and to retain effective traction under ex section with round nose 28; itscurves are struck from the corner of the heel 25, and the gullet portion 30 is formed with adequate clearance to accommodate the nose 28 of the engaged coupling claw in the locked position shown in Fig. 4. The foot 32 of the hook is horizontal on its under face, but is formed as a downwardly swept angular curve from heel 25 to toe 31 on its upper face thus forming a latch face, its edge being curved about the center of the pin 23 and its toe extended to give a length of face corresponding with the minimum arc The hook is locked in closed position by the drop key 26 which has a free sliding lit in a rectangular vertical socket in the jaw, and when dropped with the hook closed its upper solid portion 33 is positioned behind the heel 25 forming an abutment, as best seen in Fig. 4. In the closing movement, the toe 31 enters below the latch face 34 at the top of the lateral gap 35 in the key and the keyis raised as the foot passes under said latch face 34 until the heel 25, passes it, whereupon the ke drops by gravity and its solid part 33 then forms an abutment for 1,116 heel 25 as shown in Fig. 4. The entering position-of the toe is seen in Fig. 5, and the locked position is shown in Fig. 7. The lateral gap 35 in the kev is located in the path of movement of the hook foot 32, when the key is raised. The closing is thus effected by latch action as the ramp of the foot runs under the key face 34, and lifts the vkey, which drops to lOCHBCl position by gravity as soon as the heel 25 passes it.

The decoupling means comprises. a tripper bar 36, which is formed with a double ramp face and carries-a laterally offset and forwardly projecting snatch lug 37. The tripper bar 36 is freely slidable in a groove 38 in the rear side of the key, and the snatch lug 37 is accommodated in the key gap 35, said gap exposing the middle portion of one side of the, key groove 38. The bottom of this groove is formed with ramps complementary to the ramps on the face of the tripper bar 36. There is one cam face 39 at the top end of the tripper bar 36 and another 52 behind the snatch lug 37; below the cam face 52 is a concavity 40. On the bottom of the key. groove 38 one cam face 41 is formed. immediately above the latch face 34, and another 53 to register with the tripper ramp 40, when the tripper bar is very near. top position, (see Fig. 8). When Fig. 10).

raised the top end of the tripper bar contacts with the head of the key at the top of the slot 38, and when further raised, it pushes the key upward, (see Fig. 8).

The under face 42 of the snatch lug 37 is angularly disposed to fit neatly and slide on the ramp face 54 of the hook foot, (see The top face of the snatch lug is formed with a horn 43, which has an angular rear side 44. The snatch lug horn.

that it does not interfere with the sliding movement of the key in its socket; the tripper bar is in thickness less than half the thickness of the key, and is of less depth than the key groove, and the snatch lug projects forwardly from it as well as laterally, the parts being proportioned so that when the trip bar is forward and upward with the key raised and supported by it, as in Fi 8, which shows the commencement of the release motion, the snatch lug horn face 44, will be pressed forward by its contact with the lower edge of the face 34 and its'slipper face 42 will be forced forward over the heel 25 of the hook. A pocket 45 isformedin the key socket to accommodate the snatch lug while it is in this forwardly extended position.

The lower end of the tripper bar, is continued below the bottomend of the key and its extension is adapted to be engaged bv an appropriate lift gear for efiecting decoupling. A gear such as shown in Fig. 1 may be used, where 46 is a transversely disposed shaft, 47 hand wheel for rocking said shaft, 48 an arm on said shaft, and 49 a slotted hole in the tripper bar 36, in which hole the arm 48 may work freely.

The operation is as follows:

In coupling, starting from theropen position of the coupling, Figs. 1 and 3,.another vehicle, fitted with a horizontal hook coupling of the same type or. of a type adapted to coact with the coupling herein described, is caused to bump, thereby clashlng the coupling hooks (see'lTigc3). As the couplin come together, they clasp (see Fig. 4), the hook foot being thus pushed home into the recess 21. In this homing movement the latch face 54 ofthe hook foot enters at the toe (Fig; below the latch face 34 at the top of the key gap35, passing through said gap by contact with the key latch face 34, and causing the key to slide upward to the position shown in Fig. (3. @n its attaining this position, the heel of the hook foot passes beyond the key latch face 34, and the key being then unsupported by the foot falls by gravity, setting itssolid face portion 33 behind the heel 25 an abutment and preventing outward swing of the hook. The coupling movement is, therefore, a simple latching movement, the key 26 dropping by gravity behind the heel and securely holding the claw 29 in the clasped position. To decouple, the tripper rod 36 is pushed upward from the lower end, preferably by a track side gear, such as shown in lfiig. ll. In the lower position (see Figs. 5 and 6) the ramps ll and 53 push the tripper rod back. in the groove 38. The first effect of the lifting action is to bring the forward face of the snatch lug 37 against the back of the hook heel 25. The bottom edge of this heel being eased off a little as shown at 50, holds the snatch lug 37, and the tripper bar 36 backward in the key groove 33, so that the back of the bar bears against the rear side of the socket in the jaw, the horn l3 at the face of the snatch lug standing just clear of the slipper face 3% in the key notch, as bestshown in Fig. 9. The upward movement of the tripper bar being continued further, the key being raised with it after its top end has reached the end of the key groove 38, the snatch lug 37 is kicked forward by contact of its face l l with the toe of the latch face 34:, as soon as it has passed over the hook heel 25. The lifting movement is checked by the contacting of the top of the snatch lug with the top end of the pocket 45 in the jaw (see Fig. 8). It will be noted that the ramp faces 39 and ll and 40 and 53 are riding on each other when the key and the tripper rod are in the lower position (Figs. 5 and 6), so that the snatch lug 37 is retired sufliciently to insure it clearing the lower corner of the hook heel. When it has cleared the heel, the ramps are out of register, and it is then free to move forward as its horn 4:3 rides over the leading edge of the latch face 34. As soon as the lifting movement of the tripper rod is checked by contact of the horn of its snatch lug with the top end of the pocket d5, the track side gear 4:6, 47, 48 is dropped. The tripper bar 36, carrying the key 26 with it, now falls by gravity, the latch face &2 of the snatch lug 37 catching over the heel of the hook foot and sliding down over the ramped foot face 54, forcing the hook open by a latclrlike action (see Figs. 10 and 11) until. its too 31 is clear, upon reaching which point the tripper rod drops, leaving the snatch lug accommodated in the lower part- 55 of the pocket in the key socket, with clearance above it for the hook toe to enter below the slipper face 34:, of the key slot 35 to again effect coupling, when a complementary coupling is bumped home as before described by shunting two similarly fitted cars together. The drop key 26 is fitted with a button or flange head 51 which prevents the key from falling down through the socket. The trip rod 36 is prevented from falling out of the key slot 38 by the contacting of the snatch lug with the bottom of the socket the snatch lug to pass through it as the key is raised. It will be noted that the coupling cannot be freed by lifting the key upward; it is necessary that the trip rod be raised from below until it forces the key before it up through the socket sufliciently far to remove its solid face 33 from abutment behind the hook heel 25, so that the snatch lug 37 jumps over the hook heel as shown in Fig. 8, and moves downward carrying the key with it as the opening movement of the coupling progresses.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A car coupler comprising a recessed and laterally horned jaw, a horizontal coupler hook pivotally carried midway of its claw and foot by one of the horn jaws, a lo k key slidable vertically in a socket hole in the jaw and engageable with said hook foot, a lateral gap in the key with a latch face at its upper part and a ramp face atthe top of the hook foot complementary to said latch face and adapted to bear the key upwardly in the closing movement of the foot and permit the key to drop behind the heel of said foot and there form a locking abutment when the hook attains the full closed position, a tripper bar slidable and capable of limited vertical and transverse movement in a vertical groove in said key and having a lateral lug accommodated in the key gap adapted to jump the heel of the hook foot and engage upon the ramp face thereon and hold the key inactive when the tripper bar is pushed upwardly to raise the key sufliciently to offer clearance for said jump movement.

2. In a car coupling of the jaw and horizontal hook type. means for locking and unlocking the hook in the jaw, said means comprising a latch action key, slidablv housed in a vertical socket in. said jaw and adapted to be raised by the foot of the hook in the closing movement and to drop by gravity behind said foot, and a tripper contained in said key, armed with a lug which engages over the hook foot when the tripper is raised, and so holds the key up. offering clearance for reverse movement of the hook foot in the opening movement of the coupling hook foot.

3. In a car coupling of the jaw and horizontal hook tyne. means for locking and unlocking the hook in the coupling jaw, said means comprising a latch lift gravity drop key, having a lateral gap, a tripper, a lug carried by the tripper and accommodated in the gap, and a ramped foot on the hook, said key being raised in the closing movement of the coupling by the movement of the ramped foot under a latch face in the lateral gap therein and held opento permit opening of the coupling upon the raising of the tripper and the engaging of the lug of the tripper above said ramped foot.

4. In a locking mechanism for a car coupling of the jaw and hook type, consisting of a gravity -drop key with a clearance gap out in one side of it through which a ramped foot on the coupling hook may pass while bearing upwardly against a latch face on said key, thereby lifting said key out of its path and permitting said key to drop behind it to form an abutment, of a release tripper contacting with said key and carrying a snatch lug which, when the tripper is raised manually and the key lifted by it, engages over said ramped foot and is held up thereby, sustaining the key with the clearance gap therein open behind said foot, thus releasing the hook.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES WILLIAM GIBSON BROWN. Witnesses:

W. J. HUMPHREYS, H. C. CAMPBELL. 

